Category Romance Review: Dark Fire by Elizabeth Lowell

Dark Fire by Elizabeth Lowell pairs a virile, macho guide/bodyguard and a wealthy heiress traveling together through the jungles of Peru.

Dark Fire by Elizabeth Lowell
Rating:

Published: 1988
Illustrator: Unknown
Book Series: The McCalls #2
Published by: Silhouette
Genres: Category Romance, Contemporary Romance
Pages: 187
Format: eBook, Paperback, Hardcover
Buy on: Amazon, AbeBooks
Reviewed by: Introvert Reader

MILD SPOILERS 😉

The Book

Dark Fire by Elizabeth Lowell, a 1988 Silhouette Desire, takes us on a trek through the jungles of Peru. This is book #2 in her McCalls series.

Our hero is Trace Rawlings–the ‘stache. Elizabeth Lowell really loved men with flavor savers, didn’t she? I’m not judging; we all have our kinks. 😉

Trace is pictured on the cover as the apex of hirsute handsomeness: a full head of dark locks, a thick mustache, and a chest covered with more hair than a bar of soap at a YMCA.

Cynthia McCall, our heroine, is going by the name Cindy Ryan, and she needs Trace’s help.

The Plot

Cindy’s father is Big Eddy McCall, a well-connected, super-powerful multi-millionaire (it’s the 1980s, and the rise of the billionaire era was a decade away). He controls politicians and businessmen but can’t control what he desires most. Big Eddy wants plenty of grandchildren to ensure his dynasty lives on.

His daughter has no interest in marriage. Cindy isn’t willing to settle down yet, focusing more on her business. That’s okay. Big Eddy’s a modern kind of patriarch, and he’ll take any biological grandchildren he can get–on whatever side of the blanket.

Cindy is a co-owner of a boutique clothing company that purchases textiles from a Peruvian connection in Quito. But their contact was associated with a shady emerald dealer and disappeared. Then Cindy’s business partner Susan went missing looking for said textile contact.

Word has it that a powerful cartel boss named Raul has Cindy’s friend in his clutches. Cin hires Trace Rawlings to help guide her on her trip through the jungles so she can search for her friend.

The only catch is that Big Eddy McCall has gotten to Trace first and is paying him a whopping ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS A DAY to keep an eye on Cin to ensure her safety.

The Conflict

Trace views Cindy as pampered, spoiled “princess” and repeatedly calls her this throughout the book to mock her. He is a macho man and doesn’t cotton to dainty city gals gallivanting through dangerous territory for specious reasons. Especially a gal with a wealthy daddy paying him to babysit her.

There are many adventures along the way in Dark Fire that bring Cindy and Trace together–even if initially they get along like… well, like these critters:

Trace doesn’t help Cindy as she struggles through the environment because he’d perversely prefer to watch her struggle for his enjoyment.

But Trace isn’t an absolute caveman, and the two start to bond over their pasts. Although, he does have that virile body hair and facial hair, which has an allure of its own. I’ve only read a few Elizabeth Lowell romances, but she seems to have a type.

The two leads form a bond that turns from merely carnal into spiritual, and that’s when you believe that this isn’t just another love story but one that’s worth telling.

In the end, there are some twists revealed about her father, which aren’t so shocking, and don’t prevent our mains from getting together.

Final Analysis of Dark Fire

The lovemaking in Dark Fire was as deep purple as the song Smoke on the Water and reached fervent religious heights.

At first, that irritated me, as Silhouette Desires are supposed to be reliably steamy. Then I realized Elizabeth Lowell goes all out. If she is going to write a romance, it might as well be a romance that transcends mere humanity, not just a humdrum story of two strangers passing in the night.

Dark Fire was over-the-top in its overwroughtness. I liked it enough to rate it a 3 to 3.5-star read, but I had to give it 4 stars. For the ‘stache, natch.

Rating Report Card
Plot	4
Characters	4
Writing	3.5
Chemistry	3.5
Fun Factor	4
Cover	4
Overall:	3.8

Synopsis

INTO THE WOODS

Cynthia’s father had insisted she hire a survival specialist for her Ecuadorian trip, and she’d reluctantly complied, only to find Trace Rawlings was everything she disliked in a man: ruthless, domineering, egotistical. Yet traveling through the treacherous South American rain forest, she found he was all the man she needed ….

Trace was no tour guide, particularly not for some pampered rich kid. But he could name his price, and he rarely said no to an opportunity. When Cynthia Ryan appeared on his doorstep, he knew he’d made the right decision. She was the exception to all his rules–especially the one about never falling in love.
DARK FIRE by ELIZABETH LOWELL

Historical Romance Review: Angel in Scarlet by Jennifer Wilde

Leave a reply

Synopsis:

Angela Howard was the toast of London — a breathtaking vision every woman envied and every man longed to possess. Few would have dreamed this violet-eyed beauty was the precocious child of a country schoolmaster… the feisty girl who had spurned Lord Clinton Meredith, the “fairy tale prince”, to surrender her innocence to Hugh Bradford, his illegitimate brother… the young woman who had come to London with nothing but a broken heart — and a fierce determination to survive.
Now she was a celebrated actress; immortalized on canvas by Gainsborough; adored by Jamie Lambert, the playwright who made her his star; desired by the golden-haired lord obsessed with making her his lady… and still tormented with longing for the man who had branded her very soul with his passion, and who has now returned to reawaken past splendors of a love he means to reclaim….
ANGEL IN SCARLET by JENNIFER WILDE

Reviewed by Introvert Reader

SPOILER ALERT ⚠

The Book – Angel In Scarlet

Jennifer Wilde, aka Mr. Thomas E. Huff, wrote a few bodice rippers before writing romances that weren’t bodice rippers but not quite traditional romances either.

Angel In Scarlet isn’t a bodice ripper. It’s a Georgian-Era chick-lit. This is a hard one to categorize. It’s not just a romance, but more of a heroine’s journey through life and her relationships with several men she meets along the way.

The Plot

Angel in Scarlet begins when our heroine Angela Howard is a child. At twelve years old, she meets Hugh, the man who will haunt her for her entire life. They have a strange first meeting: she’s a peeping Tom trying to catch an eyeful of some action, when Hugh, who’s 16, discovers her then gives her a spanking as a discipline!

Angela grows up with her cruel sisters and mother. Poor Angie, she’s so unattractive with her rich, chestnut hair, violet-gray eyes, and enormous boobies. Who would ever love her?

She goes through ups and downs. Angela carves her way into society, falls in love, and has her heart broken. She then moves to London to make it big as an actress. She gets married and is widowed, her heart gets broken once more.

Three men vie for Angela’s love: Hugh Bradford, the bastard son of a nobleman, whose passion for Angela is surpassed only by his desire for legitimacy & a title. There’s the arrogant womanizer, Lord Clinton Meredith, Hugh’s half-brother, who is more than what he seems. And last, the famous playwright, James “Jamie” Lambert, has a tumultuous professional and personal career with Angela.

Highlight to View Spoilers Below

In the end, Angela picked the last man I thought she should be with. It broke the rules to end up with the guy she did, but that’s what Mr. Huff was good at, breaking the rules. I can’t forget how shocked I was at the end of Love Me, Marietta.

So it was the “right” choice because the man she loved could never be content with just loving her.

(Highlight the white area below to read spoilers.)

Past the age of thirty, a person shouldn’t blame their parents for their shortcomings, yet Hugh had a rough childhood, so I couldn’t fault him. His life was so difficult, and he had nothing except his dreams. They were absolutely shattered at the end. He got what he wanted, but it wasn’t worth it without Angela.

Still, I felt bad for him. I guess that’s the mark of a good writer if you can make your “villain” sympathetic. He was single-minded and wrong, but Angela was so harsh because he wanted to get his fortune. Finished! Angela, you broke that man’s heart! He was cruel and misguided, but he loved you. After what happened to Clinton, she had every right to be. Clinton was not the man for her, but I loved him. He was so sweet (plus a blond) and got teary-eyed when he made his exit.

As for Jamie, he was a great character, but Angela lived with him for years and never realized she loved him until they were through. Certainly not the kind of epic love you’d expect in a romance. I wish Hugh hadn’t turned into a jerk for her to have to make that decision.

The scene where Jamie revealed his true feelings for Angela was fantastic, and if it had been more of those, I don’t think I’d feel as conflicted.

Let’s Get It On

Wilde never met a word that wasn’t a friend. Adverbs, adjectives, subjective clauses, it’s all there, and then some! One particular passage struck out to me as ridiculously cartoony:

We ate slowly, looking at each other the whole while, silent, anticipating, savoring the sensations building, mounting inside. Utterly enthralled I watched him eat chicken, his strong white teeth tearing the flesh apart, and it was thrilling, tantalizing. I observed the way his neck muscles worked when he swallowed his wine, and that was thrilling, too and I watched with fascination as his large brown hand reached out, fingers wrapping around a fuzzy golden-pink peach, clutching it. He took up a knife and carefully peeled the peach and divided it into sections and ate them one by one, his brown eyes devouring me as he did so. The tip of his tongue slipped out and slowly licked the peach juice from his lips…
ANGEL IN SCARLET

I think this was supposed to be a sensually-tinged scene like the one out of the film “Barry Lyndon.” As for me, I was reminded of the “3rd Rock From the Sun” Thanksgiving episode where Harry and Vicki have leftover foreplay, eating turkey legs and dipping their fingers in gravy. Then Harry puts a turkey carcass on his head, and the loving begins.

*“3rd Rock From the Sun,” Carsey Werner Company/NBC*

Final Analysis of Angel in Scarlet

This was the story of the rise of actress Angela Howard and her (not too many) loves.

At 600 pages long, Jennifer Wilde’s Angel in Scarlet runs a tad overlong. That might have been due to Wilde’s penchant for purple prose, clothes porn, and food porn. Sex porn? Nah, Wilde uses a stream of consciousness perspective and euphemisms for love scenes. Hardly porn.

Mr. Wilde could have cut out 100 pages of description. I didn’t need to know the details of every outfit worn by every character in every scene.

Although I enjoyed it, I’m not 100% certain Angela made the right decision in the end.

I wanted to hate this, but something about Huff’s writing pulled me in. Yes, it’s as purple as grape jelly and full of run-on sentences, but for some reason, I can tolerate it more than Kathleen Woodi w iss‘ prose. The tension of not knowing who Angela was going to choose and the resulting emotions when she did are feelings I won’t forget.

3.88 stars

Category Romance Review: The Honey Is Bitter by Violet Winspear

Leave a reply

The Honey Is Bitter by Violet Winspear
Rating:

Published: 1967
Illustrator: Don Sinclair
Imprint or Line: Harlequin Presents #6
Book Series: Stephanos #1
Published by: Harlequin, Mills & Boon
Genres: Category Romance, Contemporary Romance, Vintage Romance
Pages: 190
Format: Paperback, eBook, Hardcover
Buy on: Amazon
Reviewed by: Introvert Reader

MILD SPOILERS 😉

The Book

Along with Anne Mather and Anne Hampson, Violet Winspear was one of the three original authors for the Harlequin Presents line when it launched in 1973. Her bestseller, The Honey is Bitter, was first published in 1967 by Mills and Boon.

The books had about 30 reprintings under Harlequin and the first in her Stephanos series.

the honey is bitter violet winspear — Mills & Boon, 1967 edition

The Plot

Part One of The Honey Is Bitter

The Honey Is Bitter features a Greek hero named Paul. I swear, these classic Presents had about 5 or 6 names for heroes! Paul, Dominic, Nick/Nico, Alex, and Andre/Andreas. Plus, the plots were nonsensical, with an intimidating male running roughshod over the heroine, as occurs here.

This book’s Paul is a Greek tycoon who blackmails Domini into marriage. How? By holding over her head that her brother embezzled funds from Paul’s company.

Why does he want a young British girl like Domini? Because Paul is Greek, and his pride demands vengeance this way! Although she is outraged by Paul’s demands, Domini acquiesces fairly easily. Nor does she turn to anyone for help.

On their wedding night, Domini runs out into the darkness and is swept into the sea. Whether that was a genuine attempt to end her life is left up to the reader. Soon, after a bit of coaxing, Domini falls into Paul’s arms and into his bed.

And that’s the end of chapter one! Quite a lot of action. With more drama to come.

Part Two of The Honey Is Bitter

Paul is much older, and one wonders what–besides the obvious–he sees in Domini.

Domini is hard to like because she’s so caustic, so… bitter. It’s understandable, though. No woman wants to be forced into marriage with a handsome, sensual, magnetic, powerful, wealthy man who desires her above all women. (Except as an escapist fantasy, naturally. 😉)

Paul whisks Domini to his Grecian villa. Despite her discontent, Domini cannot deny Paul’s allure. While she swaps verbal barbs with him during the day, they communicate on a carnal level at night.

Then the man Domini had fancied herself in love with comes back into her life, demanding she leaves Paul. Tragedy strikes. Will Domini leave Paul forever? Or is it too late and her heart already his?

Final Analysis of The Honey Is Bitter

For an older Presents, The Honey Is Bitter was deeply sensual even though the love scenes were behind closed doors. Paul employs forced seduction with Domini, so readers who dislike that trope are warned.

This vintage romance stars a cruel hero and prickly heroine. Paul is inscrutable yet domineering; Domini is determined yet ill-tempered. Together, they make a passionate pairing.

This was a fascinating tale that had me hooked from the first. But then I have a soft spot for dark, somewhat offensive romances, especially with solid writing. Violet Winspear provides just that.

I can see why The Honey Is Bitter was a Harlequin sensation in its day.

Rating Report Card
Plot	4
Characters	4
Writing	4.5
Chemistry	4
Fun Factor	4
Cover	4.5
Overall:	4.2

Synopsis

“Keep your love. Did I ever ask for it?”

Paul’s voice rang out. His face was a taut sculpture, chiseled out of stone-as she felt certain his heart was.

“No,” Domini threw at him, “but you’re not quite so inhuman as to enjoy for very long the companionship of a wife who hates you!”
THE HONEY IS BITTER by VIOLET WINSPEAR

Historical Romance Review: Secret Fire by Johanna Lindsey

Leave a reply

In this review, IntrovertReader can’t gush enough over her love for Secret Fire by Johanna Lindsey, which features a Russian Prince, the aphrodisiac “Spanish fly,” and one of Lindsey’s best heroines.

Secret Fire by Johanna Lindsey
Rating:

Published: 1987
Illustrator: Elaine Duillo
Published by: Avon
Genres: Historical Romance, Bodice Ripper, Victorian Era Romance, Forced Seduction
Pages: 416
Format: Audiobook, eBook, Hardcover, Paperback
Buy on: Amazon, ThriftBooks, AbeBooks
Reviewed by: Introvert Reader

TOTAL SPOILER ALERT ⚠

The Book

Secret Fire was the second Johanna Lindsey romance I read, and it cemented her works among my favorites. Published in 1987, this was written during Lindsey’s peak years of output.

The cover is another Elaine Duillo gem, this time featuring white, cream, and brown hues–appropriate for the wintery Russian setting. There’s also a blond male cover model whom I’ve been searching for for years. Forget Fabio and his long-haired colleagues; it’s this guy I have often imagined as the hero of many love stories I’ve read. He’s a perfect model for the ultra-gorgeous hero of Secret Fire, Dimitri. [Note: I have discovered he is the late Gerald “Jerry” Timm, a model and actor.]

The Characters

Dimitri is a half-Russian, half-English Prince who is in England to visit family and smooth over a scandal his sister has gotten into by engaging in an affair with a married man. The uber-sexual Dimitri doesn’t mind his sisters’ affairs, only that she’s so flagrant about them. So he decides to bring her back to Russia on his ship and perhaps find a dutiful spouse for her.

Meanwhile, Lady Katherine St. John, the eldest daughter of an Earl, is enraged to find that her sister has decided to run off and elope. Although Katherine has a father and brother, it’s upon her dainty shoulders that familial responsibilities lie. She concocts a plan to exchange garments with a maid and search the London streets for her sister.

The Plot

As she’s walking about, Dimitri’s carriage is stuck in traffic, and he happens to see Katherine. Although she’s short and rather plain with dull brown hair, there’s something about her that appeals to Dimitri.

As a prince who’s gotten anything and everything he’s ever wanted with a snap of his fingers, Dimitri sends a servant off to procure the woman for a night of passion. Katherine dismisses the man, but he won’t take no for an answer. Before Katherine knows what’s happening, she’s kidnapped and finds herself trapped in strange quarters.

When Dimitri finds out what’s been done, he’s disgusted at first. He was just looking for a quick tryst, not a sex marathon. Dimitri figures he’ll have to let his men have a go with her, as Spanish Fly makes a woman insatiable. Then he enters the room, and those thoughts go out the window. While Katherine might not be the most beautiful woman in the world, she certainly is one of the most sensual visions he’s ever witnessed, naked on the bed and writhing in desire.

And so begins Secret Fire, with a night of pure ecstasy for both Katherine and Dimitri.

Her adamant refusals prompt Dimitri’s servant to ply her with”Spanish Fly” to make her willing for the prince’s touch.

The Prince in Pursuit

However, the next day Katherine is back to her old self and threatens Dimitri’s servants with arrest, as she is the daughter of an Earl. No one believes her, of course. What would an Earl’s daughter have been doing roaming the London docks alone and wearing the clothes of a servant? Still, to prevent any scandal, his servant has the brilliant idea of locking Katherine in a chest and taking her with them to Russia.

When Katherine finds herself at sea, she demands to be returned. Dimitri had not expected to find her aboard the ship but is pleased to see her. Despite his hundreds of past amours, their night together was one of the best in memory, and the lady had been a virgin, to boot!

Dimitri pursues Katherine with an ardor he hadn’t imagined possible. Of course, Katherine rebuffs him at every turn. She’s no common trull but a lady deserving of respect. Dimitri ignores Katherine’s claims of nobility, mostly because he wants to believe that his Katya can be easily had. He knows he has to marry a noble Russian woman to produce an heir for his line, but Katya can be his mistress in the meantime.

Over the seas and rivers, through Europe, and into Russia, Dimitri tries what he can to seduce her back into his arms.

But Katherine has a will made of steel. Even though she wants him just as much as he wants her, she holds out for what she needs–not what he desires.

[He] wanted her. Incredible fantasy. This fairy-tale prince, this golden god wanted her. Her. It boggled the mind. It defied reason. And she said no. Stupid ninny!
SECRET FIRE

Final Analysis of Secret Fire

I love Katherine. Like Georgina Anderson from Lindsey’s Gentle Rogue, she has a habit of talking to herself–a trait I share, to my husband’s annoyance. Katherine’s fiercely proud, stubborn, and resilient. She’s not my favorite Lindsey heroine, but she is up there with the best.

One of my favorite scenes is after Dimitri’s aunt decides to discipline Katherine, and Dimitri’s horrified reaction to it all, combined with Katherine’s stiff-upper-lip reserve.

Dimitri is as equally stubborn and proud as Katherine. But nowhere near as brilliant. That’s ok. His charm and godlike looks make up for it!

This is another of Johanna Lindsey‘s excellent romances that I’ve re-read many times. Secret Fire is an absolute wonder, the hero, the heroine, the plot, the writing, all of it.

Rating Report Card
Plot	5
Characters	5
Writing	4.5
Chemistry	5
Fun Factor	5
Cover	5
Overall:	4.9

Synopsis

He’d caught only a glimpse of her from the window of his carriage, but the young prince knew he had to have her. Within minutes, Lady Katherine St. John was dragged from the London street and carried off to a sumptuous town house — for the pleasure of her royal admirer…

From the tempestuous passion of their first encounter, across stormy seas, to the golden splendor of palaces in Moscow, she was his prisoner — obsessed with rage toward her captor even as an all-consuming need made her his slave. Yet theirs was a fervor beyond her understanding, carrying them irrevocably toward final surrender to the power of undeniable love.
Secret Fire by Johanna Lindsey

Historical Romance Review: The Lord of Hawkfell Island by Catherine Coulter

1 Reply

The Lord of Hawkfell Island by Catherine Coulter
Rating:

Published: 1993
Illustrator: Unknown
Book Series: Viking Lords Series #2
Published by: Jove
Genres: Historical Romance, Bodice Ripper, Medieval Romance, Viking Romance
Pages: 403
Format: eBook, Paperback
Buy on: Amazon, AbeBooks
Reviewed by: Introvert Reader

WARNING: CONTENT AND MILD SPOILER ALERT ⚠

Catherine Coulter takes her propensity to create unlikeable heroes and dials it all the way up to “11” in her so-called romance, The Lord of Hawkfell Island.

The Plot

Mirana is a young, unmarried woman who lives with her brother in a fortress in Ireland. When he’s away, their home is attacked by Viking raiders seeking vengeance against him. Their Viking leader Rorik blames him for the death of his wife and child.

Usually, a hero grieving over his lost love is grounds for me to dislike a historical romance, but thanks to Rorik, I had plenty of other reasons to despise this “love story.”

I shouldn’t even call this a love story because–let’s get this right out the gate–Rorik never says a single word of love to Mirana. And it’s not because he’s so filled with sorrow over his loss. He’s just an unfeeling, cruel, petty, boorish boar.

I detested him so much that I created a Goodreads shelf labeled “jerky pig hall of fame” for him and his porcine brethren.

Rorik kidnaps Mirana as a hostage, not out of lust, but because he’s on the boys’ team and Mirana’s on the girls’ team, and boys are supposed to torment icky girls because boys rule and girls drool.

Rorik, The Viking Philosopher

Although externally Rorik has the appearance of a strong, 30-something Viking warrior, his demeanor is that of a gangly 10-year-old-boy who’s on the verge of adolescence. He thinks girls are gross and stupid, yet gets a weird, tingly feeling whenever a particular one is around.

So instead of reacting like a mature, well-adjusted male to that particular sow (or female) who gets him hornt up, our hero spouts insults like:

“I told you that my men really have no interest in you. You’re skinny, not at all appetizing. A man would have to be starving for a woman before he would turn his eyes to you.”

Saying mean things to Mirana alone wouldn’t merit Rurik a place at the Big Pigs’ table, though. Sure, he gets naked and bathes in front of her, taunting her in an “I-know-you-want-me-but-you-cannot-have-me-so-look-at-how-hot-I-am” sort of way. That’s cute.

He also threatens to sic his dog on her:

“I’ll have my dog kill you. He’s vicious. He protects me and my island.”

Rorik accuses Mirana of incest (and being damn good at it):

“Do you lust after him, your own kin? Is that why you’re still unwed? Perhaps he has already bedded you. You aren’t young, after all. Does he hold you above his other whores?”

He chains her up with heavy iron links–no cloth under the metal to protect her skin–and keeps her that way for days on end, deprives her of food, beats her, and neglects her. Later he gets more brutally physical, punching Mirana in the jaw, stepping on her throat, and whipping her!

So, to sum up: Rorik abducts Mirana, tells her she’s so ugly no man would sleep with her, except her brother, of course, threatens her with murder and rape, abuses her, tortures her, and spouts Schwarzenneggerian brilliance as:

“The man rules. It is he who protects the woman, he who provides shelter and food for her. It is his right to bed with a bear if he wishes to. It is I who am the lord here, and all obey!”

He’s a beast, all right. Well, charisma goes a long way, thank goodness.

Alas, Rorik has zero charisma to back up his nasty demeanor.

So What’s To Like?

Then, why didn’t I one-star this book if the hero is so loathsome?

For one thing, Mirana gives back as good as she can. She’s a solid character who deserves a better man. How about her evil brother? 😉

And second, it’s kind of funny if you can disassociate from it all. Rorik is so childlike in his hatred for Mirana. I’m surprised he didn’t wipe his boogers on her or play “I’m not touching you” with his finger hovering an inch from her face.

Sure the guy’s a looker, and he’s lord of an island, but with his protozoan personality, who wants him?

Sleeping with Rorik would be akin to doing it with Colleen McCullough’s “Tim,” inhabited by the spirit of “South Park”‘s Eric Cartman on D-Bal Max.

Sisterly Love

Ultimately, what pulls this book together has nothing to do with romance. It’s all due to Mirana and a supporting cast of female characters who forge a strong network of relationships They help each other grow and thrive in a world that’s brutal and unfair.

On the one hand, we have Rorik and his dopey gang of followers with their collective IQ & EQs of (I’ll be generous) 105.

On the other hand, we have the Hawkfell Island women’s team.

The central theme is all about “The Battle of the Sexes.”

Caring for Mirana is a servant woman, Utta, married to one of Rorik’s men. A beautiful yet simple slave girl named Entti is treated as a bounce house for the Vikings to play with, and she gets no respect. The women unite to get back at the men in ways they can, like giving them inedible food and refusing sex.

After a while, the men determine that Mirana’s behind the women’s uppitiness. Rorik attempts to rein her in. He decides he will marry Mirana and control her through force of will.

Mirana, for some reason, develops feelings for the Neanderthal.

At last, Rorik and Mirana share something in common: love for Rorik. INow, there’s a match made in Valhalla!

When the men get fed up with the women’s antics, they threaten Mirana with all kinds of bodily harm. Rorik does nothing to stop it.

He spouts perplexing threats like: “I will rape you if you force me” when Mirana refuses him his marital rights.

By The Lord of Hawkfell Island’s conclusion, Rorik and Mirana are paired off… because that’s what a romance demands. Rorik remains the same unfeeling brute he was in the beginning.

Final Analysis of The Lord of Hawkfell Island

The kindest, most intimate thing Rorik says to Mirana is:

“You are very nice,” he said forcing his eyes back to her face. “You are pleasing to me.”

If that’s enough to spark your interest, and you have a perverse curiosity to observe an exaggerated caricature of a supreme male chauvinist pig in action, while a crew of much savvier women maneuvers social politics and gender roles, then by all means, take a gander at this book.

Whatever “this” is, that Catherine Coulter wrote.

On a certain level, The Lord of Hawkfell Island is fascinating. I wouldn’t call it a romance, though.

2.74 Stars

Rating Report Card
Plot	3
Characters	3
Writing	2.5
Chemistry	2
Fun Factor	2
Cover	1.5
Overall:	2.3

Synopsis

Rorik is a Viking warrior, as fierce and savage as the North Sea during the winter solstice. Mirana is a Viking woman who loves birds, is more ingenious than most men, and loyal down to her toes. Her life changes utterly one fateful day when Rorik and his men come to Clontarf, a Viking fortress on the eastern coast of Ireland, to kill her half-brother. But she is the one taken as hostage to use as a pawn against him.

Rorik is the Lord of Hawkfell, an island off the east cost of Britain. The moment he brings his captive home, it seems that everything begins to fly out his control. The women are out to teach the men a lesson with the result that food is rank, Rorik’s family is out for Mirana’s blood, a murderer is on a loose, and a huge mongrel, Kerzog, dotes not only on his master but also on his master’s captive.

Rorik and Mirana are two strong-willed people, ardent in their opinions, who will have you rooting for both of them equally.
THE LORD OF HAWKFELL ISLAND by CATHERINE COULTER

Category Romance Review: Tiger, Tiger by Robyn Donald

Leave a reply

Tiger, Tiger by Robyn Donald flirts with a taboo that’s yet to be crossed in romance. V. C. Andrews might have had some influence on this book.

Tiger, Tiger by Robyn Donald
Rating:

Published: 1997
Illustrator: Robert A. Maguire
Imprint or Line: Harlequin Presents #1931
Published by: Harlequin, Mills & Boon
Genres: Category Romance, Contemporary Romance
Pages: 192
Format: Paperback, eBook, Hardcover
Buy on: Amazon, AbeBooks
Reviewed by: Introvert Reader

SPOILER ALERT ⚠

The Book

Tiger, Tiger by Robyn Donald flirts with a taboo that’s yet to be crossed in romance. V. C. Andrews might have had some influence on this book.

In the movie Joe Dirt, a loveable, mullet-haired redneck travels across America searching for his long-lost family. In one scene, he finds a beautiful woman who could possibly be his sister.

Realizing his potentially incestuous attraction to the woman, Joe flees in panic. But, not wanting to be thought of as a weirdo, he returns to explain his problem… After they fall into bed.

Oh hell, the movie tells it funnier than I could:

When reading Tiger, Tiger by Robyn Donald, I was reminded of this scene repeatedly.

The Plot

Lecia Spring first sees Keane Paget at an opera in the park, where a friend points out how alike the two are, so much so that they could be twins.

Indeed, while Lecia’s eyes are green and Keane’s blue, they both have honey hair–only his is like dark manuka honey (how authentically Kiwi)–the same cleft chin, strong cheekbones, long straight nose, and tall, confident demeanor.

Looking that much alike, they are instantly drawn to each other, and curious if a common ancestor is a reason for the resemblance, they begin a cordial, yet hesitant, flirtation.

Throughout the book, many, many people comment on their striking resemblance, thinking of them not mere brother and sister–but womb-mates. Lecia and Keane’s relationship is bizarre, but the protagonists let the reader know they, too, are aware of its forbidden kinky nature.

Lecia thinks on page 31:

Was part of this unsettling, goaded attraction, a prohibited thrill at their close resemblance, the way her features were manifested in his more chiseled, hard-edged face?

And then there’s this on page 132:

His feelings were as suspect as hers. The ugly word ‘narcissism’ covered that sort of attraction–making her recall the sad legend of the Greek youth who fell in love with his own reflection and died because he couldn’t see anyone else more worthy of his love… Or was it the pull between them nothing more than an instinctive recognition of blood ties, a recognition she was mistaking for desire?

The thought of finding the male version of myself whom I may be related to as attractive…

Just no… Gross!

Yuck!

But in a book, I can read the characters’ stories without queasiness. Ah, twisted romance. I love Harlequin Presents.

“I rather wish you were my sister.”

Final Analysis of Tiger, Tiger

I enjoyed the Tiger, Tiger, but the middle lags a bit as Lecia and Keane avoid each other. Although we get insight into why Lecia is interested and we know Keane’s past, we can only assume that because he thinks he is SO great, only a woman exactly like him can be his mate.

I think I read the sequel to this book, the one about their children, who get locked up in an attic by their evil grandmother who secretly poisons the kids with arsenic while they decorate their room with paper flowers.

Oh, of course, Lecia and Keane aren’t brother and sister! There is a logical reason why the two look so much alike! Although I feel like Joe Dirt, those two will engage in a lot of bedroom role-playing. 😂

Rating Report Card
Plot	3.5
Characters	3.5
Writing	4
Chemistry	3.5
Fun Factor	3.5
Cover	3.5
Overall:	3.6

Synopsis

Not only opposites attract!

When Lecia first spotted Keane Paget, his presence burned like a shining beacon. He was handsome, certainly, and profoundly male, but the face that stared hack at her was otherwise her own!

Lecia was stunned…hypnotized…and it wasn’t just his likeness–an unsettling, wild attraction immediately coursed between them. They say that the greater the resemblance, the happier the relationship. But Lecia’s passions had only ever led to heartbreak–and guilt!

No, Keane Paget was dangerous. Not only did he have her face, he seemed to see inside her soul! They were too alike for comfort. Resist, resist…
Tiger, Tiger by Robyn Donald

Historical Romance Review: Silver Storm by Cynthia Wright

Leave a reply

Silver Storm by Cynthia Wright would have been excellent if not for the slow start. However, once it gets there… Oh my.

Silver Storm by Cynthia Wright
Rating:

Published: 1979
Illustrator: Unknown
Book Series: Rakes & Rebels: The Raveneau Family #1
Published by: Ballantine
Genres: American Revolution Romance, Historical Romance, Bodice Ripper
Pages: 342
Format: Paperback, eBook
Buy on: Amazon, AbeBooks
Reviewed by: Introvert Reader

MILD SPOILERS 😉

The Book

I started reading Cynthia Wright‘s Silver Storm, a historical romance set during the American Revolution, then put it down.

It was sweet, but sometimes too sweet, and I had enough cavities. Then about halfway through, it changes in tone.

Our previously gentlemanly hero does a 180 and turns into a lecherous jerk. It was great, and I wanted more!

The Plot

The first half of Silver Storm features a sensuous French privateer named Andre Raveneau. He is escorting orphaned Devon Lindsay to her fiancé in Virginia after the end of America’s War of Independence from Great Britain.

The girl is obviously not in love with her missing man. However, she is devoted to him out of a weird sense of commitment.

All the while, this tall, gorgeous, gray-eyed Frenchman plays nice with her. Devon stomps her foot and plays hard to get. Andre was such a nice gentleman–I wondered where this was going.

But oh, he has a plan–a cunning plan–to trap his strawberry-haired prey. And when he finally gets what he wants, Andre plans to just as cruelly get rid of her, eagerly awaiting his next new lay.

In one scene, Andre attempts to seduce his ex-mistress while her brother and new husband play cards downstairs, and Devon, his current mistress, naps in her room.

But poor Devon wakes up and witnesses the dog’s hounding!

It had been so long. He pulled her gown open and her breasts spilled out like ripe, round melons…

Andres is a jerk, all right, but he’s French, so it evens out. I enjoyed the break from the English heroes that dominate Historical Romancelandia. There’s something about a Frenchman that’s so sexy. I can listen to Eric Ripert recite recipes all day…

The second half of this book takes on Devon and Andre’s passionate adventures. That was fun to experience.

Ah, Andre, what a hero!

Final Analysis of Silver Storm

Silver Storm by Cynthia Wright would have been excellent if not for the slow start.

However, once it gets there… Oh my.

Years ago, I read a book that designated romance novels, specifically bodice rippers, into two genres: “Sweet” or “Savage.” (Even though it was Kathleen Woodiwiss who started the bodice ripper genre, it was Rosemary Rogers that gave it a name.)

“Sweet” is defined as a story with a hero who may be cruel, callous, forceful, or cheats, but he is the heroine’s one and only.

In a “Savage” styled-romance, anything and everything goes.

In Silver Storm‘s case, although here the heroine is almost raped, her bodice ripped, she is abandoned and cheated on… it’s still sweet.

But it’s very spicy too!

One nit to pick: a reference to “Empire”-styled gowns in the early 1780s when Napoleon wasn’t crowned Emperor until 20 years later.

All in all, a decent old-school romance, maybe not a keeper, but I had fun with it.

Rating Report Card
Plot	3.5
Characters	4
Writing	3.5
Chemistry	4
Fun Factor	3.5
Cover	2.5
Overall:	3.5

Synopsis

A RECKLESS NOW ENGLAND BEAUTY…A DAUNTLESS FRENCH BUCCANEER…THEIR LOVE BLAZED TO FIERCE FULFILLMENT!

UNTAMED INNOCENCE
Devon Lindsay was a restless, high-spirited girl when she met Andre Raveneau, a notorious sea captain whose pirate’s plunder aided the American Revolution. But his first careless caress stirred Devon to a woman’s wanton needs…

AN ECSTASY SHARED
Theirs was a wild, impulsive passion that swept them into wartime espionage and dangerous intrigue. Yet, even in the throes of ecstasy, their willful hearts would not speak of love–until deceit and treachery threatened their life together!
Silver Storm by Cynthia Wright

Historical Romance Review: A Heart So Wild by Johanna Lindsey

Leave a reply

A Heart So Wild by Johanna Lindsey
Rating:

Published: 1986
Illustrator: Robert McGinnis
Book Series: Stratton Family #1
Published by: Avon
Genres: Historical Romance, Western Romance
Pages: 368
Format: eBook, Paperback, Hardcover
Buy on: Amazon, ThriftBooks
Reviewed by: Introvert Reader

VERY MILD SPOILERS 😉

The Book

I just realized I had Johanna Lindsey‘s western romance A Heart So Wild on my Kindle. Since I hadn’t read it in 25 years, I figured why not give it a re-read?

And you know what? I loved this book more the second time around than the first.

The Plot

Why did I enjoy A Heart So Wild that much?

Heroine & hero “meet” when the heroine, Courtney, is getting sexually assaulted by an outlaw. What does the hero do? He sees a man messing with a woman and right away shoots the bad guy dead.
Enigmatic hero with a mysterious and tragic past.
The heroine needs a gunslinger to guide her through hostile Indian territory to find her missing father.
The hero, Chandos, fights, beats, and kills men who try to kidnap or try to rape the heroine.
A snakebite where the heroine sucks the blood out of the hero’s wound for an hour (!), and then he gets sick, revealing more in his fever dreams than he would if he was fine.
Quick love scenes that express passion, aren’t too purple in prose, and don’t go on for endless pages.

This western trek romance takes us through the deserts and wilderness as Courtney and Chandos travel to find her long-lost father. A Heart So Wild is more of a character-driven than a plot-driven romance, which is fine by me.

I’m so glad I gave this one a reread, as it made me remember why for such a long time, Johanna Lindsey was my favorite author: she’s easy to read. Sometimes reading is a chore, and it shouldn’t be if it’s a hobby I supposedly love.

The Characters

Courtney is a pleasant enough type. She grows on you as the story develops. And Chandos is just… Well, he’s the kind of hero that made Lindsey sell tens of millions of books.

He’s a hard nut to crack, but once Chandos falls, he falls hard and forever. Still, he retains that stubborn arrogance that was a trademark of the heroes in the first half of Lindey’s career.

“You’re my woman, cateyes. You’ve been my woman since I first laid eyes on you.”

That didn’t satisfy her. “Say it!”

He grinned and jerked her down onto his lap, where she sat stiffly, waiting, until at last he said, “I love you. Is that what you want to hear? I love you so much I’ve got no direction without you.”

“Oh, Chandos.” She melted against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I love—”

“Uh-uh.” He stopped her. “You better think real carefully before you say anything, cateyes, because if you give me your love, I’m not going to let you take it back. I can’t keep worrying about whether or not I can make you happy. I’ll try my best but there isn’t going to be any changing your mind later. Do you understand what I’m saying? If you’re going to be my woman, there’s no way in hell I’ll ever let you go.”

Final Analysis of A Heart So Wild

Chandos is a wonderful Lindsey hero. Courtney is a likable, strong-willed heroine. Together they make for a sizzling combination.

Johanna Lindsey would revisit Courtney and Chandos in All I Need Is You, which tells the tale of their bounty-hunter daughter. That book was okay.

A Heart So Wild is one of Lindsey’s best, of which there are many!

Rating Report Card
Plot	5
Characters	5
Writing	4
Chemistry	4.5
Fun Factor	4.5
Cover	4.5
Overall:	4.6

Synopsis:

Courtney Harte is certain her missing father is a alive, lost somewhere deep in Indian territory. But she needs a guide to lead her safely through this dangerous, unfamiliar country, someone as wild and unpredictable as the land itself. And that man is the gunslinger they call Chandos.

Courtney fears this enigmatic loner whose dark secrets torture his soul, yet whose eyes, bluer than the frontier sky, enflame the innocent, determined lady with wanton desires. But on the treacherous path they have chosen they have no one to trust but each other–as shared perils to their lives and hearts unleash turbulent, unbridled, passions that only love can tame.
A HEART SO WILD by JOHANNA LINDSEY

CATEGORIES: 4 stars and a half, Avon, Book Review, Historical Romance, Historical Romance Review, Johanna Lindsey, Robert McGinnis, Romance, year 1986

***

TAGS: 4.5-star rating, Cover Artist Robert McGinnis, hero almost dies, hero alpha, hero gunslinger, hero kills for heroine, retro romance, review, road trip, road trip or trek, western, Western romance

MILD SPOILERS 😉

The Book

The Plot

The Conflict

Final Analysis of Dark Fire

Synopsis

SPOILER ALERT ⚠

The Book – Angel In Scarlet

The Plot

Highlight to View Spoilers Below

Let’s Get It On

Final Analysis of Angel in Scarlet

MILD SPOILERS 😉

The Book

The Plot

Part One of The Honey Is Bitter

Part Two of The Honey Is Bitter

Final Analysis of The Honey Is Bitter

Synopsis

TOTAL SPOILER ALERT ⚠

The Book

The Characters

The Plot

The Prince in Pursuit

Final Analysis of Secret Fire

Synopsis

WARNING: CONTENT AND MILD SPOILER ALERT ⚠

The Plot

Rorik, The Viking Philosopher

So What’s To Like?

Sisterly Love

Final Analysis of The Lord of Hawkfell Island

Synopsis

SPOILER ALERT ⚠

The Book

The Plot

Final Analysis of Tiger, Tiger

Synopsis

MILD SPOILERS 😉

The Book

The Plot

Final Analysis of Silver Storm

Synopsis

VERY MILD SPOILERS 😉

The Book

The Plot

The Characters

Final Analysis of A Heart So Wild

Synopsis:

SEARCH SITE

Categories